Helping hand for heritage

Sunday

Jul 29, 2007 at 12:01 AMJul 29, 2007 at 12:36 AM

By Lucinda Coulter Staff Writer

Tina Naremore Jones fell in love with rural life in Sumter County 20 years ago when, as a student at the University of West Alabama, she typeset a book of folklore and slave narratives by author Ruby Pickens Tartt.“I came here as a freshman, and I fell in love with the people and a place," said Jones, director of the Center for the Study of Black Belt projects at UWA in Livingston. “And I like to pass that on to others."She and others on a state task force hope to preserve the cultural heritage of the Black Belt, a swath of central Alabama named for the richness of its soil. To do that, Jones is proposing that the long-impoverished region be designated as a National Heritage Corridor through the National Park Service.The designation would give international attention to the Black Belt, which Jones said is important for its history and impact on race relations, culture and recreation.The region is widely depicted in photos taken by Walker Evans in the 1930s and ’40s and more recently received worldwide notice for the Gee’s Bend quilters in Wilcox County.Although funding varies among the 37 sites already given national heritage status, the main benefit they receive is the National Park Service’s promotion and signs, Jones said.Some of the Park Service areas, such as the Gullah-Geechee Corridor in South Carolina, received as much as $10 million, while others have been funded for only $100,000.Being designated a national heritage corridor would increase tourism and give a boost to local economies in the small towns, many of which have populations of less than 500, said task force chairwoman Dorothy Walker, outreach coordinator at the Alabama Historical Commission.“Hopefully, it will help local economies market resources in many towns without even a chamber of commerce," Walker said.With the help of an $18,600 Alabama Cooperative Extension grant, Jones and Walker held a workshop in mid-July for tourism officials in 13 Black Belt counties to meet National Park Service officials and others who help develop national heritage areas.Jones and Walker said the history of the civil rights movement, the cultural heritage of Native Americans, the region’s natural forests, its cuisine and its music make it unique.Many of the 47 who attended the workshop oversee historical and cultural sites in the Black Belt. They said they plan to advocate for the national corridor through county commissions and elected officials.“We hope the congressional delegation will see the importance of this," said Bill Bomar, director of Moundville Archaeological Park. “You have to show that you have a region with unified cultural features. For us, it’s the land."He said that the agricultural history of the Native Americans and the ancient mound builders are highly regarded by researchers worldwide for its unique features. But he hopes it can be better publicized for tourists.“It is well protected, but it is not well known," Bomar said. “It was once America’s largest city 800 years ago in what is now the United States. A lot of people don’t know what a great national treasure Moundville is, so by being part of a national corridor, we could have much more prominence."Bomar said that, since it is near Interstate 20/59, Moundville could attract visitors to other sites in the Black Belt.“We can funnel people deeper into the state," he said.One of those places, a bit farther in Hale County, is Magnolia Grove, a circa-1840s antebellum home in Greensboro. Owned by the Alabama Historical Commission, it is part of Hale County’s history that Evans made famous in the 1939 book, “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men."Eleanor Cunningham, site director of Magnolia Grove, said that in recent years, more visitors from states as far away as California and Virginia have toured the home.She, too, hopes that the Black Belt can be nominated for national corridor status.“The area is already getting quite a bit of publicity because of the Auburn Rural Studio projects," Cunningham said.While Jones and Walker prepare the proposal for the National Park Service, a statewide brochure promoting six tour routes in the Black Belt is also being prepared.Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Bureau of Travel and Tourism, said the brochure is a state effort to promote Black Belt heritage. His office has also hired Fermata, Inc., a tourism consulting company that specializes in helping rural communities.Jones said that having the national heritage corridor designation through the National Park Service would open up a place that is magical to her.She said visitors at the Sucarnochee folk life festival in Livingston every spring often thank her: “It makes them slow down for a few moments and reminds them of what life used to be like."Reach Lucinda Coulter at lucinda.coulter@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0206.